Nonviolence

A lofty ideal:

SILVER SPRING, Md. — Montgomery County police say 16 people were arrested after a fight broke out during a concert held to promote nonviolence and to remember a Silver Spring teen killed last year.

And speaking of the absence of violence, I thought it interesting that no one's been killed in Sacramento since New Year's Day:

Despite two violent episodes early Saturday morning, the city of Sacramento recorded its longest stretch – 64 days – without a homicide since 1998.

In doing so, the city also tied the record held within the Sacramento County sheriff's jurisdiction, a streak achieved in 2006.

City police have little explanation for the lull and point out that overall incidence of violent crime has remained unchanged during the past decade. Some officials suggest the record, while welcome, could be a fluke.

"It's a great thing," said police spokesman Sgt. Norm Leong. "We can't explain it, but we'll take it."

...Sacramento's last recorded homicide involved Kyle Ray Smith, 20, who was shot and killed at a Pocket area party early New Year's Day. Nicholas Moreno, 18, was arrested Feb. 21 in connection with the killing.

...An examination of all city homicides dating back to 1997 shows that, on average, someone is killed in the city of Sacramento every seven days, according to coroner's data examined by The Bee.

But the violence is there, authorities say.

From Jan. 1 until Friday, 183 assaults with a deadly weapon – including shootings and stabbings – were reported to Sacramento police. That's down only three assaults from the same period last year.

"Violent crime does exist still in Sacramento. That's the reality," Leong said. "People are still going to the hospital in serious condition, and they're surviving."

Among the city's recent close calls was a Feb. 26 assault in which three people were stabbed in the 3900 block of 12th Avenue. All the victims recovered.

...One possible explanation for the city's lower number of homicides is the ongoing advancement of medical care. At the UC Davis Medical Center – where most of the city's violent-crime victims are treated – trauma doctors and nurses have improved their blood transfusion skills, said Dr. David Wisner, chief of trauma surgery at the UC Davis School of Medicine.

Transfusion theories have changed as a result of lessons learned by doctors treating injuries in Iraq, he said.

But Wisner said medical advances might account for only one or two of the patients surviving life-threatening injuries from crimes.

Truth be told, he said, it's probably just a stroke of luck.

"I don't think 'no murders in 65 days' means a thing," Wisner said. "Just serendipity and statistical chance alone would argue that once in a while you're going to have a long stretch where things look pretty good."

Whatever the reason, Leong said, the downtime has been productive for his department's homicide squad.

"Hopefully, it'll continue through the year and allow us to work on some old cases," Leong said.

So far this year, Sacramento police have made arrests or issued arrest warrants in at least two homicides that occurred a year or more ago.